In a nanosecond, or less—in the twinkling of an eye—Paul writes that one day soon, it now appears, believers in Christ will suddenly be transformed from mortality and corruption to immortality and incorruption.
Suddenly!
That’s in, 1 Corinthians 15:53-54. He tells us in 1 Thessalonians 5:2-3, “For you know perfectly that the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, for when they shall say, ‘Peace and safety’, then sudden destruction shall come upon them…”
Suddenly, it will happen.
Several years ago I had a long-play record with the testimony of a man who had been imprisoned for being a part of a fraudulent scheme to electronically delay the transmission of the results of East Coast horse races to sources on the West Coast so as to allow the cohorts there to make last second-bets, on the known (to them) race winners.
This was well before the current era of Internet and digital transmissions. They only needed a few seconds window to get the bet in, and it worked…for a time. Only a few seconds were needed. But God, in less than a nanosecond, in the twinkling of an eye, can bring an end to this horse race we call “mortal life on earth” for millions of believers in Christ!
Suddenly!
There will be no time to go inside the house a grab your purse, ladies, or your shaving kit, fellows. We who are living will follow those coming from their graves, and as they rise to meet the Lord in the air, all of our physical trappings will fall away and our transformed bodies will join them in triumphant release!
John writes in 1 John 3:2-3:
“Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.”
The critical issue on which this transformation turns seems to be peace for Israel. Daniel 9:27 speaks of a covenant being signed for a seven-year period, and Paul refers to the cry of “peace and safety” in connection with the coming of the day of the Lord. Believers are urged to “Pray for the peace of Israel.”
Is this parallel, with that final statement in the Bible: “Even so, Lord Jesus, come!”?